HRC Blog

Sorry, NOM: Majority of Latinos Support Marriage Equality

A new study from the Pew Hispanic Center out today shows that a majority of Latinos – 52 percent – support marriage equality. That’s a dramatic increase from just six years ago, when that figure stood at 31 percent.

The upswing in support occurred over roughly the same period in which the National Organization for Marriage was hoping to turn marriage equality into an issue that divided various communities. In internal strategy documents obtained earlier this year by HRC, NOM said of Latinos:

The Latino vote in America is a key swing vote, and will be so even more so in the future, both because of demographic growth and inherent uncertainty: Will the process of assimilation to the dominant Anglo culture lead Hispanics to abandon traditional family values? We must interrupt this process of assimilation by making support for marriage a key badge of Latino identity - a symbol of resistance to inappropriate assimilation.

The documents also declared NOM’s strategy would attempt to “drive a wedge between gays and blacks—two key Democratic constituencies.” Like Latinos, support for marriage equality in the black community has steadily increased over the past several years.

The American public – and people of every age, race, religion, and even political affiliation – are supporting marriage equality in growing numbers. Despite this, groups like NOM continue to advance divisive strategies that are aimed not at strengthening communities, but at tearing them down. A top NOM leader even called the organization’s racially motivated strategy “strategic genius.”

Groups like NOM can continue pushing antiquated, extremist agendas aimed at demonizing LGBT people, but in nearly every community, momentum is clearly on the side of equality – driven by people of various backgrounds who agree that all Americans deserve to be treated with dignity and respect.